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| Lot number | 69 |
|---|---|
| Hammer value | £500 |
| Description | Pashley or Harding Invalid or Bath Chair |
| Registration | FON 146 |
| Year | c.1941 |
| Colour | Black |
| Engine size | 125 cc |
After the Great War the bath chair and invalid carriage were a necessity for many injured soldiers who still wished to retain a certain amount of independence.
Firms such as Pashley of Stratford and Harding of Bath produced various hand and foot powered models together with a range of motorised offerings and these were once at least as common a sight as the mobility scooter is today.
There is no paperwork with this machine so the exact make and model is unknown, although the registration FON 146 dates from 1941 which would suggest a clue as to the likely year of manufacture. It is powered by a Villiers 125cc 9D twin-port two-stroke engine mated to a 3-speed gearbox (which in a Francis Barnett Merlin or James ML is capable of 45mph – rather an alarming thought in this contraption). The registration date implies that this machine was possibly purchased by or on behalf of someone returning invalided out of the early stages of the Second World War. There are no documents with this machine.
